Dental floss holder



June 8,1926. 1,588,307

R. W. CAMMACK DENTAL FLOS S HOLDER Filed Jan. 26, 1926 Elnucutoz Robert walmmaclt Patented June 8 1926.,

UNITED STATES ATENT-onion. y

ROBERT WALTER: CAM MACK, F WHITTIER, CALIFORNIA.

DENTAL rnoss Honnnn.

. Application filed January 26, 1926. "Serial No. 83,927. Y

My invention relates to a dental floss holder designed for holding a strand of floss taut in convenient position to be readily inserted between the teeth.

6 'An object of'the invention is to-provide a device of this characterwhich is of such a form as to be capable of conveniently reaching allof the teeth with minimumvv efiort on the part of the operator and b means of which foreign matter may be e ficiently dislodged.

quently inexpensive to manufacture.

Referring to theaccompanymg drawmgs 'which are made a part hereof and on which similar similar reference characters indicate parts v Figure 1- is a side elevation, Fig. 2, an enlarged longitudinal sectional view, j g Y Fig. 3, an end elevation of ,the holderwith the'handle removed, and Fig. 4, an .end view of the handle.

As shownin the drawings the inventionv comprises a body 10 and a handle 11. The

body '10 is provided with legs 12 and 13, said v legs being spaced apart" and across the extremitiesof which a dental floss 13 is adapted to be tightly stretched. The legs 12 and 13 are provided with passages 15 and 16 respectively extending longitudinally through. the same, the ,passage 15 in the leg 12 extending centrall through the body and terminating in a ollow socket 17 into. which the forward end of. the handle isthreaded. The'passage16 of the leg 13 also terminates in said socket, the handle and the body being threaded for erative relation.

'lhe handle 11 is ormed with a hollow interior foli receiving a spool of. dental floss 14,- said being adapted ,to be threaded '50 out through the opfeninglti to theextremity f l dl gli and across to the opposite leg the-socket: of the body; nd n sp hre edthmglmhesakem permi the :12 and throughthe opening 15'around into' body'ofit h e device so a may be continuously,iused and brokenofl until the supply in the hollow handle is exhausted. In order to facilitate the breaking of 'the floss I pro 'videa' small slot 19 on the outer side of the legI'13 adjacent the handle 11.

n threading the holder it is necessary after placing the floss in the handle to thread the same through the passage 16 and leave ajsuflicient portion extending to reach 16.10% the space between the legs through passages 15 and 18 whereupon the handle is screwed into the body of the holder and the 'sur'plus floss is re oved by cutting it off in the slot 19. After the. holder is once threaded it is not necessary to thread it again until the floss is exhausted or properly and the handle is provided with a sufiicient cavity to hold several yards of dinary usage.

I use a floss which is adapted to be unwound from its interior, however, obviously any kind of floss which will unwind easily r floss, suflicient to last several months in .or-

' may be used. In order to tension the floss as it is used I provide an annular recess in the bottom of the handle of the holder and provide an operating end portion on the handle 11 adapted to fit into said annular recess for b this structure the floss may and broken. The floss will not break if used 8 be; clamped 'etween the end of the handle 1 and the holder and held in taut position as shown in- Fig. 4. e The extremity of thehandle which fits into the recesses is preferably slightly roughened to cause the same to gripathe floss as it engages it. As shown .in Figure 2 when the handle is screwed into the holder the floss will first be engaged by the portion of the handle adjacent the opening 1n the leg '13 consequently the floss may be pulled through the opening 18 and the jacent thejopening 18 aswell as at the first int of contact adjacent the opemng in the lia g 13. In order to determine the amount necessary to turn the handle into the holder handle screwed home to clampthe floss adrespectively. As shown when the characters A and G' are in opposite relation the floss will be held only at its entrance end into the leg- 13 while if the handle is rotated to ewe-benzene once segues are si g e detra t D'i ap e a 1! acter A the floss will be clamped at both its entrance and exit ends inside the holder while if the handle be unscrewed so that the character B is opposite the character A the floss will be released and may be freely pulled through the holder.

It will be obvious to'those skilled in the art that various changes may be made-in my device without departing from the spirt of the invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but onlyv as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A holder for dental floss comprising a pair of spaced prongs adapted to have dental floss tightly stretched across the same, means for attaching said prongs to a. handle, means for clamping one, end .of the dental floss when the handle is in one position and adapted to clamp both ends of the floss when the handle is in another position, andindicia for determining the relative position of the handle with reference to its attaching means for determining whether one or both ends of the floss are secured, substantially as set forth.

2. A dental floss holder comprising a. pair ofspaced prongs, an integrally threaded socket at right angles to and in the plane of the prongs, a hollow handle having err-- ternal threads for engagementwith the socket, passages through thesocket for dental floss, and a shoulder adjacent one of the passages whereby when the handle is screwed into the socket the forward position thereof will engage one end of the dental floss prior to its engagement with the other end, substantially as set forth.

' 3. A dental floss holder comprising a pair of spaced prongs, an integrally threaded socket at right angles to and in the plane of the prongs, a hollow handle having external threads forJ engagement with the 'socket,-passages through-the socket for dental floss, ashoulder adjacent one of the passages whereby when the handle is screwed into the socket the forward portion thereof will engage one end of the dental floss vprior to its engagement with the other end, and indici'a for determining relativeposition of the parts, substantially as set forth.

4. A holder for dental floss comprising a pair of spaced prongs, a socket in one of the prongs, a passage in each of said prongs terminating in said socket, a hollow handle adapted to contain a supply of dental floss, sai hollow handle being adapted to fit in i the socket, the passage for floss in one of said pron and t e passage for" floss in the other of sad terminating in the side of the socket in the socket the floss in the side passage will be engaged before the floss in the bottom passage, substantially as set forth.

5. A holder for dental floss comprising a pair of spaced prongs having a socket formed at one side thereof, a hollow handle for engagement in said socket and adapted to contain a supply of dental floss, a passage extending from the side of the socket through one prong, a passage extending from the bottom of said socket through the other prong, whereby the dental floss will be engaged and clamped adjacent the inner end of the passage in the side of the socket prior to its being clamped at the inner end of the passage in the bottom of the socket, substantially as set forth. i

' 6. A holder for dental floss comprising a pair of spaced prongs adapted to have dental floss-tightly stretched across the same, a

handle for said prongs, means for clamping one end of the dental floss when the handle pair of spaced prongs, a handle for holding dental floss stretched across said prongs, said handle being adapted to engage one end of the floss when the handle is partly in position and adapted to engage and clamp the other end of the floss when the handle is' completely in position, substantially as set forth.

8. A hol eri-for dental floss comprising a pair of spaced prongs, passages therethrough terminating at the base of one of the prongs and unitary means operable to engage the ends of the dental floss, but bein adapted to engage one end of the floss be ore it engages the other end thereof, substantially as set forth.

. 9. A holder for dental floss comprising a hollow handle, a pair of spaced prongs disposed in the plane of the handle and at right angles thereto, a socket in the side of one of said prongs, a passage for dental floss in each of said prongs terminating in said socket, and meansv for clamping the dental floss at its entrance into one of said prongs when the handle is partly in position, in the socket, said means being adapted to engage the floss at the extremity of the passage in the other prong when the handle is completely in position.

10. A holder for dental floss comprising a pair of spaced prongs adapted to have dental floss tightly stretched across the same, a handle for said prongs, means for clamping one end of the dental floss when the handle is in one position relative tosaid prongs and adapted to clamp both ends of the oss when the handle is in another position, relative to said prongs and a slot in one of said prongs for severing the dental floss, substantially as set forth.

11. A holder for dental floss comprising a pair of spaced prongs adapted to have dentel floss tightly stretched across the same, a

handle for said prongs, means for clamping one end of the dental floss when the handle is in one position relative to said prongs;

adapted to clamp both ends of the floss when 10 the handle is in another position relative to said prongs, said handle having its end roughened for clamping the floss against the bottom of the socket for taking up slack, subthis fourteenth day of January, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-six.

ROBERT WALTER CAMMACK. [L.s.]' 

